1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a monorail vehicular system of the single rail overhead or trolley track suspended variety, which can carry one or more vehicles thereon.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Monorail systems of the overhead track type have been very popular with traffic engineers, as they offer great potential for transporting large numbers of passengers at high speeds, and can be constructed to avoid the use or destruction of large quantities of land and to minimize construction costs.
The Pruyn U.S. Pat. No. 494,081 discloses an elevated railway car, that is carried by flanged wheels on an I-beam rail, and which has wheels F, which contact a rail for electrical power input to the car.
The Pruyn structure is not suitable for high speeds, does not provide a high degree of restraint on the track, and suffers from other problems.
The R. M. Fryer U.S. Pat. No. 541,662 discloses an elevated railway system which includes a suspended track, a driver or motor car carried on the track, the motor car being carried on trucks which engage the track. This structure which suspends the car below the track, does not provide a high degree of safety, would not permit of high speed operation and suffers from other shortcomings.
The H. H. V. Koelle U.S. Pat. No. 1,048,320 discloses a monorail car and traction mechanism, wherein the car rides on a narrow shaped rail 2 on the top of supporting posts 1, and has guide rails 3 on each side below the rail 2 which are engaged by guide wheels 19. The structure will not operate at high speeds, requires wide curves, and suffers from other shortcomings.
The S. E. Swinney U.S. Pat. No. 3,461,811 discloses a monorail system wherein the vehicle frame 10 is carried by wheels 14 on a single narrow rail 16. The frame carries two safety units, which each have a roller 30, one of which is on each side of the monorail beamway, and which move against the beamway by hydraulic pressure to stabilize the vehicles operation.
The Swinney structure is complicated, will not operate at high speeds or on sharp curves and suffers from other shortcomings.
The R. J. Lawrence U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,162 discloses a monorail system, which includes a single metal rail on top of a supporting central panel, and a lower metal rail having flanges on each side of the panel. The car rides on flanged wheels on top of the rail, with equally downwardly spaced pairs of wheels, bearing on the central panel for stabilizing the car. While this structure operates satisfactorily, it is not suitable for high speed operation, will not negotiate sharp curves and suffers from other shortcomings.
The system of my invention travels at speeds at least three times that of the apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 3,610,162, will negotiate considerably sharper curves and has greater stability than previously available systems.